InsaneJournal

2008
A deadly virus breaks out in the Midwestern United States. Reports indicate, according to first response teams and hospitals in the area, that the outbreak originated somewhere in Iowa but no one knows exactly how the pathogen came about as no link could be found to strains of currently known viruses. Virus symptoms at the onset are noted to be chills, cold sweats and fatigue. Isolated cases are found in hospitals across the Midwest, no rhyme or reason exists for the disease as it randomly chooses its victims. The United States government and President George W. Bush thinks nothing of the news, ruling it as a new and isolated flu strain much like the bird flu or swine flu.

Then hospitals in New York City and Los Angeles report that they have patients who have contracted the virus. Then a hospital in Peru, followed by the first cases of infected people in London, Osaka and Melbourne. As the virus grows and persists across the globe, patients begin to experience extreme fever coupled with hysteria and often, at its pinnacle, death. World governments recognize the virus as a pandemic and begin to take precautions, warning citizens to wear face masks, wash their hands, and stay indoors as much as possible. Panic grows as people begin to fear each other and the virus' potential to infect anyone.

Within three weeks, the first patients diagnosed in the United States find their symptoms quickly vanish but they are left with something far more sinister. The first "mutant human" is found in Boston. Television crews make it to the hospital only to find a man running out, spouting fire from his fingertips. He accidentally kills a cameraman with a stream of flames and he almost burns down the entire hospital trying to stop it. The horrific event is caught on camera and streamed around the world much to its horror.

With the advent of the "Boston Firestarter", suddenly, "mutants" begin to reveal themselves around the world. A case of twins in England exhibiting reality-warping abilities, a Japanese man being able to leap over tall building in a single bound. Then, scientists finally uncover the Virus' true intentions: it jumpstarts evolution in baseline humans by manipulating and unlocking the brain's higher wave functions. The world governments name it the Darwin Virus.

The Darwin Virus rages across the globe and, although heralded by the government as "an interesting type of virus", panic ensues.

2009 → 2012

The dark age, as remembered by those alive during this period in Earth's history. As a result of the Darwin Virus, there is an exponential increase in mutant humans that do not know how to control their newfound powers. Vaccines for the virus do nothing to suppress it, only hinder it for a day before it returns twice as wrathful. Communes of mutants begin forming in large cities around the world, where they revel in their evolutionary gift while honing and practicing.

Many wanted to use it for good in the world, whether it was to protect their family or defend their villages. However, there were those that wanted to use their gift for horrible things like war and crime. Such was the case when a bomb rocked a bank in Midtown Manhattan. It wasn't just any bomb, however. It was created by a mutant's own will. The bombing was quickly followed by a rash of crimes across the globe in which people, now armed with superhuman abilities, caused mayhem.

Worldwide disasters also set a record during this period, some of them even mutant-made. One case was of a girl, who unknowingly created a tsunami by thinking too hard. Another, a boy in 2010, who created an impenetrable sandstorm in downtown Cairo and couldn't stop it until he was knocked unconscious. Storms set a record, as did blizzards, all of them egged on by a aged weather manipulator. London became a battlefield, large areas quarantined off by rival gangs — some of them good, most of them bad — attempting to kill each other on the streets.

The world fell further into chaos and despair.

2012
War looms ever closer as nations put the blame for natural disasters on their neighboring countries. The fallout comes to a head when Russia declares war on its old Soviet territory Ukraine, after a group of Russian dignitaries are assaulted and killed by a gang of mutants. War was about to break out but not for long.

In the late autumn of 2012, on the eve of when Russian soldiers would launch their attack on Ukraine, the Gods intervened. It started when a large Viking-looking man — sightings report that he stood at around eight feet tall — dressed completely in medieval armor, thundered into existence in downtown Oslo, Norway. He introduced himself as Odin. Sightings of Zeus posing on top of the Parthenon with his lightning bolt in hand, Shiva walking out of the Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, and Amaterasu in the Royal Palace Gardens in Tokyo soon followed.

At first, many people thought they were fake, a group of mutants that were acting like the old Gods of mythology as a joke. However, the world let out a collective gasp when other Gods and their respective pantheons began appearing all around the globe. The first meeting between the Gods and world leaders took place in early November of 2012. The Gods called for order and for peace because, if allowed to continue, humanity would initiate the end of the world. The Gods proposed a new government, a new form of the United Nations that would govern the world while the Gods offered help in the background until Earth was on the track to peace and they were not needed anymore. It would be called the League of Nations, a new form of the precursor to the United Nations. It would be ruled by a President with all the other world leaders elected as delegates.

As a result of the Gods' intervention, the supernatural world was allowed back into the fold. Magic erupted into existence once more, and accounts of supernatural beings being sighted became more frequent. A pack of werewolves striding across the Andes mountains along with other creatures — merpeople in Barbados, vampires in Romania — became commonplace as Earth adjusted to the thought that humans were not the only sentient species on the planet anymore.

Many of the war gods — Ares, Hachiman, and Monthu among them — announced their desire to form a squad of trained operatives, superpowered or not, that would act as the arm of the League. Called Axiom they would, in essence, keep law and order but they needed a training ground. They formulated the Tournament and laid down the plans for Camulus Academy, a school that would help young men and women realize and hone their potential. As a prize for being the best of the best and winning the Tournament, they are offered a spot on Axiom to train and become a member.

On 12 December 2012, the League of Nations began operations with all of the world's leaders in attendance. The first Tournament took place in the latter part of December and ended in January 2013. The first winners, among them a vampire, were inducted into Axiom.

2014

Axiom members Red Sun, Knighthawk, and Lady Viper — of Japan, Germany, and India respectively — thwart a catastrophe in the Koreas. They forcefully dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program, which was consequently targeted at neighboring South Korea. Axiom's success is televised worldwide, to North Korea's dismay. Axiom, and by extension the League of Nations, is heralded as a force for good.

2015
The end of the clean-up in many of the world's larger cities such as New York City, London, and Tokyo. Mutant gangs are arrested and placed in specialized prisons and cities return to regular working operation under the tight watch of Axiom's agents.

2018

In Morocco, the first case of a murder brought on by Axiom agents. The two men killed, only helping their town catch a group of bandits, are deemed vigilantes and it is quickly ruled an accident by the League of Nations.

2022
Impoverished countries in Inner Africa, with the backing of Anansi, call for Axiom to be more all-encompassing as they are suffering from civil unrest only to be largely ignored by the League of Nations. In response, the League tells them to send better-prepared champions to the Tournament so that their countries get better representation. As a result, many African countries begin seceding from the League. The rest of the African countries that remain in the League form the United African Alliance. The seceded countries go on ignored while the UAA receives aid.

2024

One of the champion's wins is revealed to have been rigged, a scandal that erupts in worldwide protest. The League removes him from active rotation on Axiom and he is never seen or heard from again.

2025
A violent protest against the children of gods, demigods in their own right, at the League of Nations' headquarters takes place. The heads of the pantheons call for fairness on part of the people as they stand on the steps of the building. Study is quickly conducted and the public report comes out that "extensive research proves that demigods do not have unfair advantage", much to the Gods' content.

2028

A volcano erupts on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. A massive slab of rock twice the volume of the Isle of Man breaks away from the island smashes into the Atlantic Ocean to cause a massive tidal wave only to be halted by Axiom agents Mindbreaker (England) and Riptide (Libya) with the combined use of their telekinetic and hydrokinetic powers. Amongst most citizens of the world, Axiom is still seen in a positive light.

2030
The first account of death in the Tournament, an unexplainable case to both Tournament officials and the League of Nations. Officials launch an investigation into the healing Obelisks that surround the arena and find nothing wrong with the devices.

2033

A Tournament champion is found almost completely vaporized three months after his win and initial reports suggest the obvious: homicide. He is immediately replaced by the runner-up, who remains on Axiom despite circulating rumours that she was in fact responsible for his death. After extensive investigations, officials determine the death cannot be deemed a homicide.

2037
The 25th anniversary of the Tournament. Present year.